a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a foot bath for animals, such as dairy cows and more particularly to an automated foot bath apparatus and method which accomplishes not only the application of disinfectant to the hooves of the animals, but also accomplishes the cleaning and refilling of the liquid containing area of the foot bath.
b) Background Art
In a dairy parlor it is common to have the cows exiting the dairy parlor walk through a foot bath of approximately six feet by two and two-thirds feet and a depth of approximately six inches. This foot bath would have disinfectant that is dissolved in the water. The common prior art procedure is that there would be the area having a small pool which contains the water. The dairyman uses a hose to fill the pool with the water, and then pours the disinfectant chemical liquid and/or powder into the water and mixes these in the pool manually.
During the course of the cows moving through the foot bath, a certain amount of manure will commonly collect in the foot bath. After the milking operation is completed (i.e. all the cows have gone through for that particular milking period), then the dairyman will open the drain valve so that all the liquid flows out. Then the dairyman will hose the manure down the drain.
A search of the patent literature has disclosed a number of U.S. patents. These are as follows:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,774,909 (Stable) discloses a foot bath for the use in the treatment of cattle and other livestock. There is a resilient pad which is covered with a shallow layer of disinfectant fluid. As the cow steps on the pad, the fluid flows around the foot.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,630,379 (Gerk et al.) discloses what is called an xe2x80x9celectrically controlled spraying device for cleaning and treating animalsxe2x80x9d. There are rails around an enclosure and discharge nozzles mounted to spray a cleaning fluid or a treatment fluid under the animal, and it states that the device is able to clean the hooves of the animal.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,224,224 (Hintz et al.) discloses a foot bathing fixture that includes a seat supported on a raised pedestal. This is incorporated into a shower enclosure for a person.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,536 (Midkiff) discloses a portable a truck tire washing apparatus. There are two longitudinally-spaced tire rotating driveable roller trailer assemblies mounted on a support member and a liquid spraying means for spraying the tires.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,228,554 (Tumminaro) shows a toilet for animals particularly adapted for pets such as dogs and cats. There is a user platform on which the animal stands, and the platform has an upper surface which is gradually inclined down on shallow angle toward a center opening of the toilet. A flushing liquid is provided to flow over the surface to clean the waste material from the upper surface, and a bowl is located beneath the upper platform to receive the waste.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,989,965 (Rod) discloses a xe2x80x9cfoot wear decontaminating apparatusxe2x80x9d for use in the atomic industry. The user steps on a platform immersed in a fluid, and a high frequency agitator washes off the contaminating material.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,956,565 (Anderson) discloses therapeutic equipment for remedial bathing and massaging treatment of feet and legs of animals. There is a container filled with granular solids such as soft, clean sand possibly 104 inches long, 42 inches wide and 18 inches high to contain the granular material. The racing horse, for example, is brought to stand with all feet in the soft wet bed and is permitted to sink to a depth somewhere between the ankle and knee height. Heat that could be applied to alleviate the soreness of the animal.
U.S. Pat. No. 853,533 (Byrd) shows a foot bath intended to be occupied by horses as they drink from the attached water trough. There is a drain to keep the water at the desired depth.
The present invention relates to a system, apparatus, and method which can be automated, in whole and in part, as a foot bath system for animals. The present invention is particularly adapted for use in a dairy parlor where a smaller or much larger number of cows pass through a foot bath after the completion of a milking operation. Within the broader scope of the present invention, this invention could be used for other animals, particularly animals having similar situations or needs as milk cows.
In the system of the present invention, there is a foot bath structure having a front wall, a rear wall, two side walls, and a floor. The foot bath structure defines a liquid containing region comprising a front containing area and a rear containing area. This foot bath structure is arranged to permit the animals to walk over the floor and through the foot bath in the liquid containing region.
The system further comprises a water inlet section arranged to supply liquid to said liquid containing region, and to supply at least a portion of the water so as to be directed into the front water containing area as high velocity jet flow to be able to cause a flow pattern in the liquid containing region of any current flow, turbulent flow, or a combination of any current flow and turbulent flow. This is able to accomplish the moving of waste material in the liquid containing region.
There is a discharge section which is at the rear containing area and which has a closed configuration in the liquid containing region, and an open configuration to discharge liquid in the liquid containing region.
A chemical supply section is provided to provide a quantity of chemical components as an ingredient in a foot bath liquid for the liquid containing region.
A control section is arranged:
i) to cause the water inlet section to operate in a time frame to supply water to the liquid containing region to cause said high velocity jet flow pattern, thus to move waste material in the liquid containing region, and also to provide water as a constituent for the foot bath water in said liquid;
ii) to cause said discharge section to selectively move between the closed and open configuration to contain liquid or permit an outflow of liquid in the liquid containing region; and
iii) to cause said chemical supply section to provide said quantity of the chemical component for the foot bath liquid.
In the preferred embodiment, the control section is arranged to operate in a cycle of operation through at least an agitation phase where the water inlet supplies water as a high velocity jet flow to move waste material in the liquid containing region, and for at least part of time that the high velocity jet flow takes place, the discharge section is caused to be in its open configuration to enable liquid in the liquid containing region with waste material carried thereon to be discharged from the liquid containing region.
More specifically, there is in the cycle, a draining phase, where the flow of high velocity of liquid jet water is at least reduced or stopped, and the outlet section is in its open configuration, followed by the flushing phase where the liquid outlet section is in its open configuration, and the water inlet section is discharging water with high velocity jet flow to cause removal of waste material from the liquid containing region. Then, there is a filling phase that can be combined with the chemical injection for a filling and chemical injection phase.
The chemical component is injected in the preferred form as a chemical liquid into the water that is provided for the liquid containing region. In a preferred form this is directed into the water along with the high velocity jet flow taking place.
In preferred form, there are at least first and second water inlet openings spaced laterally from one another to direct water at the high velocity flow. The foot bath structure is arranged so that the liquid containing region has a front to rear longitudinal axis and a transverse axis, and the liquid containing region has a length dimension along the longitudinal axis greater than a width along the transverse axis. The two inlet openings of the water section are positioned at the front wall of the foot bath structure, facing generally in a rearward direction toward the rear wall, and being spaced laterally from one another on opposite sides of the longitudinal center axis. Thus, the two inlet openings cause water streams to travel on opposite sides of the longitudinal axis and have a return flow path in an eddy current flow in a forward direction at a location closer to the longitudinal center axis.
The water inlet section has a third liquid inlet that is positioned between the first and second liquid inlets, and nearer to the longitudinal center axis. The third inlet opening directs a third flow of water in a generally longitudinally aligned direction.
More specifically, the third inlet opening has a generally laterally aligned slot-like configuration to discharge water in a laterally expanding pattern toward the flow streams generated by the first and second high velocity jet flows from the first and second jet openings.
In another embodiment, there may be two additional inlet openings of the water inlet section which discharge water at a high velocity jet flow mode into the liquid containing region.
In a preferred form, the first and second inlet openings are spaced from the longitudinally center axis of the foot bath at least a quarter of a distance between the longitudinal center axis and an adjacent outer end portion of the front wall, and in a more preferred embodiment at least approximately the adjacent outer edge of the front wall.
The high velocity flow of the two jets forming the high velocity liquid jet flow, is at least two feet per second, and could range in values from 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 or 15 feet per second.
The control system comprises a clock component having operative connections to at least three components or combination of components, and in turn provide timing for the activation of the water inlet section, the discharge section, and the chemical supply section to cause these to operate.
As an alternative, the control section could comprise a micro-computer to control the operation of the water inlet section. The computer could be programmed so as to cause various phase or phases of the cycle of the system to occur at different times, such as for example, causing an agitating and flushing action between the cycles.
The present invention also comprises a method, and the steps of this method are readily understood from reviewing the above-noted description of the operation of the system. Further, the present invention comprises the apparatus utilized in the system and particularly adapted for use in this invention. Other features will become apparent from the following detailed description.